Protein and energy : a study of changing ideas in nutrition

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Bibliographic Information

Protein and energy : a study of changing ideas in nutrition

Kenneth J. Carpenter

Cambridge University Press, 1994

  • hardback

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-270) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book reviews the long-standing debate over the relative merits of a high-protein versus a low-protein diet. When protein (or 'animal substance') was first discovered in vegetable foods it was hailed as the only true nutritional principle. Leibig, the leading German chemist of the mid-nineteenth century, believed that it provided the sole source of energy for muscular contraction. In contrast, health reformers argued that high intakes were over-stimulating, leading to dissipation and decline. The subject came to widespread public attention again in the 1950s as the United Nations debated the need for providing protein supplements to Third World infants. At a time when the concern has resurfaced that over-consumption of protein in affluent societies may damage health, this book provides a fascinating historical perspective.

Table of Contents

  • 1. Nutritional science before the Chemical Revolution (1614-1773)
  • 2. Nutrition in the light of the New Chemistry (1773-1839)
  • 3. 'Protein' discovered and enthroned (1838-1845)
  • 4. Things fall apart (1846-1875)
  • 5. Vegetarian philosophies and Voit's standards (1875-1893)
  • 6. Chittenden versus the U.S. establishment (1883-1912)
  • 7. Vitamins and amino acids (1910-1950)
  • 8. Protein deficiency as a Third World problem (1933-1957)
  • 9. International actions to produce high-protein supplements (1955-1990)
  • 10. Re-appraisals of the Third World problem (1955-1990)
  • 11. Adult needs for amino acids: a new controversy (1950-1992)
  • 12. Retrospect
  • Appendices: A. Chemical structure of amino acids
  • B. The measurement of protein quality
  • C. Calculations of amino acid balance using an isotope label.

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